Paul Weightman has set an ambitious target for the investment team he poached from Barings earlier this year: raise more money than his now-archrival ever managed in direct lending — in half of the time.
It took 12 years for the team to build a $36 billion direct-lending unit when they were at Barings, the Australian founder of upstart private credit firm Corinthia Global Management said in an interview with Bloomberg.
“Our target is over that amount in half the time,” Weightman said.
The rivalry between the two firms began after Weightman, with the backing of Nomura Holdings, lifted a 22-strong direct-lending team from Barings earlier this year. The U.S. asset manager hit back with a lawsuit, describing Corinthia’s actions as “one of the largest corporate raids at an asset manager in years.”
And there’s little sign of that friction cooling. Weightman has hired three more people from Barings who are joining later this year. Next week, a North Carolina court will play host to Corinthia’s motion to dismiss the charges that Barings has leveled against it.
As the $1.7 trillion private credit industry rapidly grows, it’s becoming increasingly clear to its practitioners that life-changing money is up for grabs. The founders of HPS Investment Partners, for example, are set to make billions of dollars if they go ahead with plans to either sell or pursue an initial public offering of their business.
Unlike at Barings, the members of the 22-strong group each have an equity stake in Corinthia. The firm’s bet is that investors will flock to the team, which has lengthy experience in the industry, even if they move from the firm at which they cut their teeth.
“Most limited partners are increasing their exposure to alternatives, and most are looking at private credit as an important part of that,” Weightman said. “We now have a team with enormous experience and so I think we’re well-placed to take advantage of that added demand.”
Building out
The Corinthia team members are reacquainting themselves with private equity firms and investors, according to Weightman, as they roll out of their noncompete clauses. The interim noncompete to which Corinthia agreed with Barings came to an end in September.
“We’re building the infrastructure that our team needs to compete at the top level of private credit,” Weightman said.
Corinthia has set up offices in eight locations so far, including London, New York and Tokyo, and now has 37 employees. Nomura is providing financial backing for the first three years of Corinthia’s business plan, Weightman said.
